I started out with this.
(Artisan Spirit Water Garden by Northcott.)
And this. Because I felt too lazy at the moment to cut strips from my leftover batting.
Unfortunately, when I opened up the jelly roll, the insides looked like this.
So I had to do this.
Eventually, a podcast episode or two later, I ended up with this.
I’m sorry to say, this gave its life for the cause.
Soon I was able to start doing this.
For hours. And hours. Sheesh, it felt like it took for-freakin’-ever.
But finally, yay! I got to this!
I wound it into a ball as per the directions, and the final step went by speedy-speedy compared to the rest of the process. Within a couple of hours, I had this.
Well, that and a new iron.
So, my first jelly roll rug is complete. I’ve learned a few things along the way. I had difficulty choosing thread and now that I know what really does end up being visible I’d have made different choices. But trust the pattern—when it says to wind five bobbins before starting, wind five bobbins. I went through four and some.
I did my best not to let it get wonky (kidney-shaped) during the first few passes but my first few rows were way off. I was able to beat it back into almost-submission as I continued to go around that curve so it didn’t end up as bad as it started. I’m not sure I liked the way the pattern described the initial start, but now that I’ve made one I have a better idea what to look out for.
This was meant to be a gift. I haven’t decided if I like it enough to actually send it off. On the other hand, I don’t necessarily want to keep it around, either. I like those colors but I have none of them in my house. So I’ll ponder a bit.
This is addictive. I could easily see myself making more and, next time, actually cutting the batting strips to use up some of my odd left-over pieces.